In Spite Of
by OpenSourceArtist
Summary: Osiris is an Earth born, Asari raised Vanguard looking for a place he can call home. Genetic modification made him a target of humanity, and his alien appearance made him an outsider to the Asari. He finds liberation in a place called Omega. Pairings undecided. (Hiatus/Pending Rewrite, 6/17/13)
1. Chapter 1

I've had the idea for this story for well over a month and I couldn't wait any longer to begin. I do have another story in progress that will take precedence over this one, and the updates for this story will be sporadic at best, so do not expect weekly chapters. Please note that I haven't read the novels and my knowledge of the Mass Effect universe is somewhat lacking, so if I make mistakes regarding canon material or take liberties with some things, try to be understanding.

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**In Spite Of**

**Chapter 1**

**Year 2174 CE**

A human walked into a bar. It was rundown and smelled something foul, but it was bearable and appeared to have a wide enough variety of alcohol to serve its purpose. The human spotted an empty seat at the bar between an asari and krogan. The human walked towards the bar, more specifically for the empty seat, and gained the attention of some of the locals as their eyes observed him from afar.

He stood at roughly six feet tall, messy dark brown hair hanging haphazardly off his face, but wasn't quite long enough to cover up his brown eyes. He appeared to have a strong body, but not much of it could be seen as it was adorned in armor. His features were quite relaxed, as if feeling no need to try and intimidate anyone with furrowed eyebrows or a deathly glare, but then again the shotgun strapped to his back was all the intimidation he needed.

As he plopped himself down in the seat, the asari to his left was slightly startled, whereas the krogan paid it no mind and continued ignoring everyone. The asari, however, was curious and glanced at the human who now sat beside her.

"What can I get for you human?" the batarian bartender asked as he approached the human from behind the counter.

"Batarian Ale, top shelf, the whole bottle" the man replied with a smirk.

The bartender couldn't help but smile at the remark, whether it was a smile of approval or amusement was anyone's guess.

"You do know that costs 2,000 credits, right?" the bartender questioned.

The human grinned, "It certainly isn't the most I've ever spent on alcohol, but today I'm celebrating" he said before bringing up his omni-tool and transferring the credits to the kiosk nearby.

The batarian simply chuckled before reaching for the bottle and putting it on the counter in front of the human along with a clean glass, "Enjoy."

The human smiled before pouring himself some of the ale and downing the entire contents of his glass, exhaling with squinted eyes as the vapor ran through his throat and nostrils.

The bartender walked away laughing to attend to another customer, while the asari next to him could contain her voice no longer, "What exactly are you celebrating?" she asked curiously.

The human poured another drink and downed it in similar fashion before replying, "It's not every day you turn one hundred years old" he said while giving her a sideways glance.

The asari was slightly taken aback, "One hundred? I know humans who look your age and aren't a day over thirty."

He chuckled lightly, "Yeah well, it's a long story."

She scooted closer to him, "I've got time."

He looked at her again before smiling and standing up, motioning her to follow him to a table in the back and vacant area of the bar, and she followed excitedly.

They both sat down across from one another, he filled her empty glass with Batarian Ale and said, "I suppose there wouldn't be anything wrong with telling this particular story on this particular day."

His eyes looked up as he tried recalling his memory, "I guess it all begins when I left with an expedition as a baby..." he trailed off as he began his story.

**Year 2075 CE**

"Please Mr. Manswell, he's one year old now and meets the criteria for cryogenic stasis!" a woman pleaded with the man in front of her.

"Listen to yourself, you want to take your one year old son on this expedition, freeze him along with the rest of us and you expect me to be thrilled about the idea?" he argued.

She sighed sadly, "He's my son. He's all I have."

Mr. Manswell's eyes softened as the woman in front of him seemed to deflate and was now practically begging, "He's too young, it's too dangerous. Can't you leave him with his father?" he asked, trying to convince her of a different course of action.

She shook her head in the negative, "His father left when he was born. Please Victor..."

The man sighed heavily, rubbing his temples at the growing headache that was sure to exist after they were released from cryogenic stasis, "Fine, but if there's even the slightest possibility that your child is at risk for the process then he stays" he said before walking away.

The woman smiled happily and left to get her son.

**Year 2075, and 3 months later...**

"If they find out we're traveling this far without approval they'll shut us down Sharene!" an asari hissed at her shipmate.

"Cease your worries, they won't find out. Now what are the scanners telling you about that vessel in front of us Yvel?" Sharene questioned as she looked at her console's readouts.

"The ship is composed of unknown materials, although the design appears to be far behind asari technology, and there are...several hundred passengers. According to further scans of the passengers they're in some kind of deep sleep" Yvel replied, giving up on warning Sharene of the risks they were taking in this venture.

"Deep sleep?" Sharene asked curiously.

"Yes. Accessing their databases now..." Yvel said while going over the information being fed into their computers, "Due to their lack of technological advancement in flight speed, they've put themselves into some type of stasis so they can live through the long journey...hold on" she trailed off as new information was being loaded.

"What is it?" Sharene asked as she glanced at her.

"One of the stasis pods is malfunctioning, premature awakening is occurring. Retrieving occupant's file now..." Yvel paused in visible surprise, "It is a child."

Sharene's eyes widened, shock certainly noticeable, but her eyes gleamed with excitement as well, "How old is the child?" she questioned.

"According to records he is only one year old" Yvel replied.

Sharene leaned back in her chair before closing her eyes and slowly inhaling a deep breath, and with an exhale she opened her eyes and stood up, "Prepare to dock with the vessel, we're going to retrieve the child."

Yvel now too stood up, but for completely different reasons, "You can't be serious Sharene! We can't just go on board and steal someone's child!"

"What do you propose we do? Let the child die?" Sharene countered.

Yvel was a bit stumped, but wasn't so relenting on this matter, "I'm sure they have some kind of backup in place for this error."

"You have access to their database, check for yourself" Sharene stated while directing their ship towards the vessel in front of them.

Yvel quickly scanned through the database and found no backup, much to her displeasure, "We can't just..." she continued, but Sharene interrupted her, "If we do nothing the child will die. If we fix the problem there's no guarantee it won't just happen again, and given the fact that they don't have any backups in place it's easy to recognize that this race of people are too reckless to have such faith in their technology."

Yvel couldn't quite argue with those points, but still didn't agree with what Sharene was proposing and decided to remain on board their ship and not participate.

Sharene quickly boarded the alien vessel and soon found the malfunctioned stasis pod, it wasn't too difficult due to the wailing cries that could be heard since she arrived.

She managed to open the pod with relative ease after familiarizing herself with the primitive interface, soon revealing the small form of baby. Sharene gently lifted the child into her arms and sealed the pod before exiting the ship and returning to her own.

Not long after retrieving the child from the alien vessel, Sharene and Yvel soon returned to their facility on Thessia.

Sharene and Yvel were both geneticists funded by the government to conduct research on genetic conditions that still ailed the asari people. It wasn't long before the government discovered the child they had practically abducted from an alien species. Sharene had argued strongly for allowing them to keep the child for research, as they had soon recognized this species, known as humans, were genetically diverse and enabled them to explore treatment modalities that could be used to help the asari. The government reluctantly agreed, rationalizing that the child was better off since he would've died on that ship in vain.

Sharene, however, had other plans in mind for the child, despite what she had told her government. While the government thought their funding was going towards the betterment of their people, Sharene was conducting experiments to improve the child.

The same genetic diversity that enabled the exploration of treatment modalities, also enabled the child to undergo drastic genetic modifications.

The robust cellular regenerative system of an asari for a longer lifespan. His potential strength, speed, and agility were enhanced to levels far beyond normal. Sharene saw the child as a wondrous test subject, but as she spent more and more time with the child during the modifications she soon grew quite attached to the human. Realizing that the child would eventually have to grow up on Thessia, being the only one of his kind on this alien planet, she decided to undergo the dangerous task of enabling biotic potential in the child so he could fit in a little more easily.

**Year 2174 CE**

"At least, that's what my mother told me when I was a teenager" the human recalled to the asari who was entranced by his story.

She was broken out of her fixation and soon regained her composure, "How come I've never heard of this?" she asked.

The man downed another glass of the Batarian Ale, "No records. The asari weren't exactly keen on the idea of admitting to the acceptance of kidnapping and experimentation on a species they had yet to make contact with, it wouldn't do their public relations any good" he explained.

"Well, how come there aren't more humans like you? I think I would've seen more humans living to be one hundred with visible youth" she pointed out.

The man simply chuckled, "The asari government didn't want any of this coming back to them, so they destroyed the research once they discovered what my mother was really doing with their funds."

The asari looked down in thought, trying to think of something that could explain this secret, "What about the geneticists?" she asked.

The man paused in drinking from his glass, but couldn't respond as someone bumped into him from behind, causing him to spill some of the contents of his drink, much to his displeasure.

"You're coming with us gorgeous" a turian leered at an asari.

"Do you know who I am?" the asari stated in disbelief.

The man who had bumped into the human sitting down with Batarian Ale soon regained his stance, he was also a turian, "Of course we do, but we'll be off this station long before anyone finds out you're missing."

Meanwhile, the human was staring at the spilled contents of his drink, his eye twitching in agitation and he began clenching his teeth as his mood took a dive. He looked up at the asari he had been drinking with, "Excuse me for just a moment, and hold this" he said before handing her the bottle of Batarian Ale.

He slowly stood up, cracking his neck and knuckles, while rotating his shoulders to loosen his body up a little. Not a second later and he cracked the turian who bumped into him with a vicious punch to the temple, causing him to crumble to the floor in a heap of unconsciousness.

"Wha-" the other turian bellowed as he witnessed his friend knocked out, but was soon cut off as the human delivered a similar punch and launched him off his feet.

The human grabbed both turians by the back of their collars and dragged them outside, and proceeded to further punch and kick them, yelling obscenities about causing him to spill his drink, much to the bartender's amusement.

The human walked back inside, grabbed the bottle of Batarian Ale out from the asari's hands, and chugged the remaining contents. He wiped his mouth dry and tipped the bartender before walking out of the establishment.

The asari who was being harassed was thoroughly surprised, she couldn't even utter a thanks to the savior.

However, the asari who was sharing drinks with him soon chased after the human, "Hold on!" she nearly yelled.

The human halted in his tracks before looking curiously over his shoulder, his features and posture just as relaxed as they were when he walked into the bar, "Huh?"

"I never got your name" she replied hopefully.

He smiled softly before continuing his walk and yelled over his shoulder, "Osiris."

The asari still inside the bar was shaken from her stupor as she heard the name, "_Osiris..." _she thought curiously.

The human walked, and walked, and continued walking until he came across a place that seemed very appealing to his appetite. It had bright lights and sensual vids, and the red letters of Afterlife shined brightly above the entrance to what he imagined was some kind of club.

He saw a long line to enter, but he never got in lines, he was too impatient for them. He marched up the stairs and simply let himself in, no one stopped him so he thought nothing of it and admired the scenery as he continued onwards.

As he finally entered the club, he fell in love with the aura of the place. Bright alluring lights contrasting with the dark and sensual backdrop that was essentially Omega. The loud music thumping over the customers drunk banter, and to top it all off his eyes were flooded with the tempting sights of asari dancers and such an assortment of alcohol it made the last place he frequented look almost dry.

He approached the bar, which had far more people that the last place, and simply asked for the strongest stuff at top shelf, paid for another bottle and went in search for a dancer to admire.

He scanned the establishment for a dancer he liked, and he soon found one. She had a deep purple complexion with white markings on her scalp that also ran along her jawline and chin. To his annoyance, however, another human was already with her, but from what he could discern she was quite unhappy with the customer. He decided to take advantage of that and approached the two.

"I'm a dancer, not a hooker!" the asari said angrily.

"Cmon, you asari are all the same, we humans know that with enough credits you all love to f-" and much like the turian in the last establishment was cut off, this human was cut off with a punch to the face.

Osiris grabbed him by the back of his collar and merely chucked him towards the bar, the limp body sliding across the ground and hitting the back of someone's chair, who didn't take the action lightly. A group of mercenaries took the unconscious human outside for further punishment, because apparently one of their drinks had been spilled, an unwritten rule in bars that many seemed to forget.

Osiris then sat down at the dancer's table with his bottle and a smile.

The asari looked at him in disbelief and soon directed her anger at him as well, "What? Do you think I'm going to sleep with you for credits like that last human did, huh?" she questioned.

Osiris simply waved her off dismissively, "Don't worry, I just want to watch a dancer at work. Besides, I don't sleep with maidens" he said while taking a swig from his bottle.

The asari looked at him skeptically before accepting what he said and beginning to dance on the table for him.

"My name's Osiris" he said before drinking once more from his bottle.

The asari gyrated and swerved her body before replying, "Larissa."

"That's a beautiful name, I like it" Osiris commented before transferring some credits to her as a tip, causing her to dance more enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, above both Osiris and Larissa, in the upper most section of Afterlife, a heated discussion was taking place.

"Would someone like to explain to me why Liselle was nearly abducted off my own station?" an asari asked angrily.

The men that stood before her were all silent, while Liselle was far more vocal, "I wasn't abducted, I'm fine mother!"

"Where was Klunz? Why wasn't he there to look after her?" the asari asked openly, standing up from the couch she was seated on as anger grew within her.

"He uh...got distracted, Aria" a nearby batarian replied.

Aria quickly looked at the batarian, "What do you mean, _distracted_?"

"There was an asari..." the batarian said before he was cut off.

Aria was exasperated, "Klunz will work in the mines, we'll see how distracted he gets down there" she said while trying to calm herself down.

Liselle was still upset by her mother's attitude however, "I don't need looking after, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, _mother_" she emphasized to try and get her point across.

Aria simply ignored her outburst, "Tell me, who dealt with the two turians?" she questioned.

Liselle looked down in defeat, if she was so capable she wouldn't have needed saving, and Aria knew that, "A human, named Osiris" she replied, her vigor being much less noticeable.

Aria inwardly smirked at how easily her daughter gave up, something she would have to help her with over the next several hundred years she imagined, but this mention of a human caught her interest, if only slightly.

"Never heard of him, Anto?" she asked as another batarian looked through his omni-tool.

"No records on an Osiris" he replied.

Aria's eyes narrowed, "Anto, send some men out to search for this Osiris, and take Liselle with you to identify him..." she said but Liselle interrupted, much to Aria's amusement.

"Wait! There he is!" Liselle said as she pointed down at the corner of the club where a man sat watching an asari dancer.

Aria looked at the direction and saw who Liselle was pointing at, she wasn't very impressed, but decided that she did need a replacement for Klunz after all, "Bring him" she ordered, and Anto signaled two men to retrieve the human.

Osiris transferred credits once more to Larissa and he was very much enjoying himself, the contents of his bottle having already been consumed, but he didn't mind too much.

His enjoyment, however, was soon cut short when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. Decades worth of training and honed instinct caused him to react the moment the hand made contact with his shoulder, and he quickly grabbed the hand with his own and squeezed, hard.

He could hear a muffled cry behind him as he applied more and more pressure to the hand, likely causing immense joint and ligament pain. Osiris stood up and looked down at the man whose hand he was squeezing the life from, it was a batarian. He wasn't alone, however, as a turian was standing behind him.

The turian finally regained his composure and reacted, advancing towards Osiris with rifle in hand, but was soon met with a headbutt, causing immediate dizziness and was then knocked on his back with a light push from Osiris.

Osiris glanced down back at the batarian after he dealt with the turian, "What do you want? Can't you see that I'm preoccupied?" he said passively.

The batarian grunted before he managed to vocalize a reply of sorts, "Aria...wants to...see you" he said as he squirmed under Osiris' grip.

Larissa gasped at the statement, but Osiris ignored them both, "I don't know any Aria, now take your friend and leave me alone" he said, squeezing hard enough to break his hand before letting him go and sitting back down.

"Now" he chirped to Larissa, "Where were we?"

Needless to say, Larissa was unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to continue dancing or not.

**Chapter 1**

**In Spite Of**

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**Author's Notes:**

There will be pairings, I just haven't decided on any as of yet, but I do know that it will NOT be an OC/Aria T'loak pairing.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in a review or private message.


	2. Chapter 2

Larissa gasped at the statement, but Osiris ignored them both, "I don't know any Aria, now take your friend and leave me alone" he said, squeezing hard enough to break his hand before letting him go and sitting back down.

"Now" he chirped to Larissa, "Where were we?"

Needless to say, Larissa was unsure of whether or not it would be a good idea to continue dancing or not.

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**In Spite Of**

**Chapter 2**

**Year 2174 CE**

The batarian wasn't going to waste any time, especially given Aria's reaction to Klunz' failure to watch over Liselle, and he immediately called for backup. Larissa knew better than to upset her boss, and despite how many credits Osiris was giving her, it meant very little if she wound up dead.

She stepped down from the table, thanked Osiris for his generosity and briskly walked away. Osiris, feeling slightly dejected and quite pissed, looked over at the two men who were the cause for the recent turn of events, smiled wickedly as he saw three additional men approach along with the batarian and turian he just encountered.

He stood up from his seat, jumped up and down on his toes and loosened up his body, before roaring gleefully with reckless abandon. Mass effect fields began to culminate around his body before he slightly bent his knees and charged the group of thugs, his biotics augmenting his speed and strength. The impact alone caused all five men to be vaulted off their feet and land flat on their back, some of them getting knocked into other customers, chairs, or tables. The batarian he had aimed for was instantly knocked unconscious, and so he directed his attention to the closest thug, the turian whom had accompanied the batarian the first time.

While the music in Afterlife was loud and encompassing, nearby customers and mercenaries couldn't help but notice five men be launched off their feet, and if that didn't catch their attention, the battle cry beforehand would've made anyone's head turn.

Osiris had the turian lifted up off the ground by his collar and was happily punching the life out of him. Osiris could catch the sound of a rifle being drawn behind him, and with a laugh he turned his body and the turian along with him, hurling the turian like a ragdoll into another thug who had joined the scuffle. The turian crashed into the man and they both fell to the ground.

Osiris directed his attention to the remaining three who were by now back up on their feet and beginning to draw their weapons. Osiris pulled the closest thug towards him with a mass lowering field, lifting the thug off the ground and with great velocity causing him to fly towards Osiris. The grin that plastered Osiris' face continued to grow more crazed as he became more enthralled with the fight, and with a fist reeled back and the thug flying towards him he punched the thug square in the face.

Osiris didn't waste any time and sprinted towards the last two thugs, both of whom were paralyzed by shock and fear at what Osiris had done to the others. Outstretching his arm Osiris clotheslined one of them, the force causing the thug to flip in the air and land hard on the floor. The last of the thugs finally regained his wits and aimed his gun at Osiris, managing to fire off a couple of shots. However, much to his surprise, the bullets were merely absorbed by a barrier that was surrounding Osiris. Chuckling, Osiris spun backwards and landed an elbow strike on the thug's cheekbone, causing it to break on impact.

Osiris stood upright, still taking in quick breaths as his blood flowed with excitement and pleasure. He calmed himself down from the high he got from fighting and approached the thug clutching his cheek in pain.

Pulling the thug up by his collar and bringing their faces only a couple of inches apart, Osiris calmly asked, "So, where is your boss?"

After gasps of pain, the thug managed to point above them to a section of Afterlife that overlooked the entire club.

Osiris, still excited from the fight, smiled deviously as an idea formulated in his head. He forced biotic energy into the arm he was holding the thug with, and with impressive strength vaulted the thug in the direction he had pointed. The thug flew through the air and landed inside of the upstairs section, much to Osiris' amusement.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving from everyone nearby, Osiris calmly walked towards the bar and ordered another top shelf bottle of alcohol. Not wasting time with a glass, he took a large sip and exhaled contently before heading to where this Aria was located.

Meanwhile, in the upper section of Afterlife, Aria's patience was wearing thin as this unknown human made quick work of five of her men, all at once. She wasn't observing the fight, it was unnecessary, for if judging by the sounds that one could overhear above the music, it was quite easy to discern that several individuals were getting their asses thoroughly kicked. Her only hope was that they weren't killed in this skirmish, for she wanted that privilege herself.

Aria's musings were interrupted when someone came hurtling onto the floor from below, a feat impressive enough to momentarily cause her to forget what was going on before the moment ceased and her anger resumed.

Exercising with all her restraint from killing the closest person, while gritting her teeth she said, "If this Osiris isn't up here in the next ten seconds, I'm going to start lopping off heads!"

The men surrounding her stood with wide eyes and trembled in their boots. They could either choose to die one by one at Aria's hand, or risk getting killed as a group at the hands of this Osiris. They all seemed to reach the same conclusion at the same time rationalizing that they stood a better chance as a group, but much to their relief, a newcomer introduced himself.

"If you didn't send those idiots down I might've still been sour about my dancer running off, but since the fight was halfway decent I don't see why I can't forgive and forget" a man said casually as he walked up to Aria's couch and plopped down, taking a swig of the bottle he held in one hand as he made himself comfortable.

Aria stood in place, her arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. She observed the man who was bold or stupid enough to be so casual towards her, something that could potentially undermine her reputation, but decided to refrain from killing him just yet.

"I assume you are Osiris" she questioned, sitting down on the couch in her usual position with her hands in her lap.

"I assume you are Aria" he retorted, taking another sip from his bottle.

"You should consider yourself lucky. If you hadn't saved Liselle earlier today you would've been dead before sitting down" Aria quipped, trying what she could to maintain her image.

Her remark had an undesired result; Osiris simply chuckled, as if in amusement at the threat, much to Aria's annoyance.

"What did you want that was so important you had to interrupt my time with one of the dancers?" Osiris questioned, again taking another drink from his bottle.

Aria's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She couldn't continue to allow this human to disrespect, especially not in front of her men.

"I would exercise caution in how you speak to me, in case you weren't aware, I run Omega. If you want to stay alive, let alone stay on my station, understand who's in charge" she stated harshly, the deadly undertones apparent even to the most dense of people standing in the vicinity.

"What did you want?" Osiris merely repeated with slight agitation marked in his voice.

Aria decided any further attempt at trying to impose her will would only make her look worse in the eyes of her men, and with her point made already she opted to answer his question, "I wanted to thank you for saving Liselle by offering you a job, especially since five of my men will soon be _reassigned_, I find myself in need of new recruits for my organization."

Osiris seemed to mull the idea around in his head while continuing to drink, consideration evident on his features. After drinking what was left of his bottle, he chucked it behind him down to the ground floor and stood up from his seat on the couch.

"I'll pass. I've seen your men in action, and quite frankly I'm not impressed" he said before turning his back on Aria and walking away.

Aria could restrain herself no longer. She had let this man disrespect more times than she had allowed anyone to before him, and whether he saved Liselle or not, she would tolerate him no more.

She abruptly stood up and gathered mass effect fields in her palm before vaulting a warp attack at Osiris from behind at deadly speeds.

Osiris had heard her stand up, he felt her biotics begin to flare, and before she had ever launched the attack a smile had graced his lips. Moments prior to being struck by the warp attack, Osiris barrel rolled sideways, turned on his heel and biotically charged Aria with minimal mass effect fields.

Aria had not survived centuries worth of battle without anything to show for it. As Osiris began to gather mass effect fields to charge, she had thrown up a barrier which absorbed the brunt of the attack. However, there was little she could do about the shotgun barrel that was pressed up against her neck.

Aria's men all drew their weapons moments after Osiris charged towards her, but Osiris didn't seem concerned in the least.

Osiris bore his eyes directly into Aria's, searching for any sign of weakness. He looked for fear, and only found anger. He looked for hesitation, and only found determination. He looked for something that would give him cause to blow her head off, but he found only things he saw in himself.

"Tell me" he said softly into her ear, low enough that only she could hear his words, "what do I have to gain by working for you?"

Aria was pissed, but at the same time, she couldn't help but admire his boldness. Not a single person had dared to stand up to her on their own since the Patriarch, and he was a krogan. For that reason alone, she decided to play along with him and answer his question, "The same thing everyone else gets."

Osiris huffed in amusement, "Judging by how everyone treads in your presence, they seem to work for you out of fear. I, unlike those you employ, do not live in fear for my life. I will ask again, what do I have to gain by working for you?"

"_He has Patriarch's fearlessness, then again, most krogan are fearless, even to a fault. No, his fearlessness is different. It doesn't seem driven by some cultural belief_ _like it is for the krogan" _Aria thought while the shotgun barrel pressed even harder against her neck.

Aria then searched his eyes for anything she could decipher. There was an excitement, almost a bloodlust, but that might have to do with their recent trade of biotics and the shotgun he held against her. No, he was much more complicated than that. Then realization dawned on her, he was searching for something. He was searching for something within her. She almost laughed at the answer she was going to give, but it made sense all things considered.

"Tell me, Osiris. Are you bored?" she asked, testing her theory.

Judging by the way he reacted, she knew instantaneously what he searching for, and he seemed to realize that she knew it too.

Osiris chuckled, which soon turned into a full blown cackle. He was laughing whole heartedly, and not long after he removed the shotgun from her neck and holstered it to its original position on his back. As he took a step back from Aria, he noticed a charged warp attack in her palm, something he failed to notice in their conversation, which only seemed to excite his laughter even further.

"I can give you fights. I can give you alcohol. I can give you dancers. I can…give you something to do" Aria stated calmly as she sat back down on her couch as if their altercation never occurred in the first place. Her men took her cue and stood down their weapons.

Osiris calmed himself and sat back down on the couch, resting his right leg atop his left knee and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're smart" he stated, and he wasn't mocking her either.

It was Aria's turn to huff, "I see idiots on a daily basis trying to work for me, I know the difference between them and someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Osiris repeated.

"There are people who are controlled by their desires for power, wealth, or their life. I should know, considering I control Omega. You, however, aren't so ambitious" Aria stated.

Osiris smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

Aria then looked directly at Osiris, her angry features returning, "But makes no mistake, if you challenge me again it won't matter what type of person you are, I will destroy you."

Osiris wasn't stupid enough to ignore her threat, but at the same time he wished she was aware just how invigorating threats of violence were for him and so he decided to test her patience once more if only for his love of playing with fire, "I'm tempted to challenge you more often" he said almost playfully.

Aria huffed in annoyance, "It's like I'm dealing with a child" she said while rubbing the side of her temple, "I have a job for you."

Disappointed that she was ending their banter he relented and gave her his attention, "What are the details?"

"A volus by the name of Portne Vil owes me a substantial amount of credits. I want you to pay him a visit and take payment, whether he has the credits or not" she explained.

Rolling his neck around and yawning loudly, Osiris stood up and began walking away, and while Aria's guards kept their eyes on him at all times, it didn't seem to faze him one bit.

"You'll have it within the hour" he replied before leaving and making his way for the Afterlife exit.

Once Osiris was out of earshot Aria looked at the batarian standing nearby, "A couple drops of his blood fell to the floor, get a sample and find out who he is. I also want eyes on him at all times, is that clear?" she ordered.

"Yes Aria" the batarian replied with a nod.

**Chapter 2**

**In Spite Of**

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Author's Notes:

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in a review or private message.


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